Health & Fitness
Tips for Tenants Facing Eviction: What The Income Property Owner Can't Do and The Eviction Process
Six out of 10 people in Santa Clara County own their homes; four of ten are renters.
If you’re among the renters, and you’re facing eviction for not paying rent, for damaging the property or for being a nuisance, you should know your rights and the rights of the people who actually own your home as well as the proper legal procedure for getting you to move out.
You know that facing eviction is difficult and disruptive on its own. It can also have legal, financial and credit-reporting consequences. Here’s what your landlord or landlady cannot do:
- First, he or she can’t turn off the power, water or gas to the house. It’s illegal. If the owner does this, call your police department or the Sheriff’s Office. If you live in Los Altos Hills, Cupertino, Saratoga or an unincorporated area of the county, call the Sheriff’s Office.
- Second, it’s the same thing with locking you out of the house or apartment if you still lawfully occupy it.
- Third, the owner can’t come into your residence any time he or she wants to, unless there is an emergency, you’ve abandoned the property or you voluntarily let them in.
- Fourth, The owner needs to give you notice stating the date, the approximate time and the purpose of the entry. He or she can mail you the notice, hand it to you, post it on your entry door or leave it with a person of responsible age, such as a teen son or daughter or a roommate.
- Fifth, the owner can’t tell you that you have to leave, and if you don’t, they’ll call the police. An eviction can only be carried out once a legal process has been followed and approved by the courts. There is no such thing as an emergency eviction.
Here’s what the owner can do if you don’t voluntarily move out after you’ve been served with a written notice of eviction. Moving out will save you a lot of stress and time if you know that the eviction was warranted. This is what most renters do when faced with this situation.
Here’s the process:
The written notice: This notice will be for three, 30, 60 or even 120 days for rent-controlled residences. The period varies depending on why you’re being evicted, how long you’ve lived there and a few other special cases.
Complying with the notice: You must either comply with the notice or be subject to an unlawful detainer lawsuit. Your landlord or landlady must file this lawsuit with the courts and serve it with proper notice. You have five days to file a response. This period is extended up to 15 days in some cases. If you don’t the owner may go after a default judgment to set your eviction going.
The judge steps in: Once a court date is set to hear the lawsuit, the judge will decide, based on the evidence, whether the eviction is proper and will make a ruling on any money owed. If the judge finds in favor of the owner, the court will issue a writ of possession for the property.
The eviction: The owner then presents the writ to the Sheriff’s Office, and the Sheriff’s Office, by order of the court, evicts all the tenants from the property. If you’d like more reference material, get in touch with the California Dept. of Consumer Affairs or the Santa Clara County Superior Courts. # # #
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